Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #384695 in Books
• Published on: 1990-12-31
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 368 pages

Review
"This book succeeds on two levels. For beginners, it offers a clear, comprehensive guide to the business of and techniques used in advertising copywriting. And for the professionals behind the typewriter, this book is a valuable back-to-basics tool that should be given a prominent slot on the bookshelf."-"Los Angeles Times"

Synopsis
Shows how to write effective advertising copy, looks at print ads, direct mail, brochures, catalogs, commercials, and public relations material, and offers advice on freelance and ad agency work.

Customer Reviews

A must-read for every type of writer
This is the best book I've ever read on the writing process. Bly shows you how to write with the minumum of excess and get right to the point. That's a vital part of copywriting but it's also important in writing generally (and I've been published numerous times, but never written an ad). If you have to have one book to improve your writing, no matter what your style, this is the one.

Much-misunderstood discipline; easily understood guide
Independent writing consultant Robert Bly cuts through all the hype surrounding promotional copywriting and `creativity', with a no-nonsense guide that covers everything.

I too am a copywriter and, for the first time, empathised almost entirely with what a fellow writer was saying.

You see, the subject matter is steeped in misunderstanding. What the aspiring writer needs to know is that almost all copywriting is about selling.

Robert Bly understands this, and communicates it well. He knows it's not about clever headlines; it's not about puns; it's not about abstract concepts. Yes, the copywriter is a salesperson - one who is paid by his clients to sell their products.

This book recognises this with a relish. It urges us to identify the USP (that which makes a product different and saleable) and to put it right up-front, to deliver simple messages that everyone can understand, and to write precisely for the intended audience.

Bly's comprehensive guide covers pr! ints ads, brochures, radio and TV commercials, direct mail and PR material. There are also chapters on getting a great job in an agency, and going freelance.

The only element with which I would take issue is Bly's somewhat dismissive attitude towards graphic design. I can think of many designers and art directors who would be hopping mad over Bly's comments about `fancy visuals' that don't add to the selling process, and about the limited value of white space. Surely someone who has worked so much with designers knows about their contribution to the `pickupability' of advertising material? A minor quibble, but a valid one.

Can't argue with any of this
Excellent primer on the craft of copywriting. I've read many, and this is up there. Along the way, in addition to his own insights, Bly offers useful edited highlights from some of the wisest names in the trade. Very valuable for anyone wanting to get into the business as a writer and for those, like myself, already doing it. Priceless for anyone whose job is to manage writers and sign off on copy. Should be required reading for all client-side marketing people and agency account execs, particularly for what Bly has to say about writing ads in a vacuum, the importance of knowing your audience as well as you know your product, and about writing ads for them, not for your own amusement. And an excellent reminder about the limits of 'creativity' in marketing. With reference to one of the other reviews of this book, it's not a blast from the past, it's true. You can't gainsay the proof of decades.